Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Inside the $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill is a political time bomb for Republicans

Robert Laszewski
Policy
March 4, 2021
95 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

Contained inside the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill is a political time bomb for Republicans.

Included in the bill’s long list of stimulus spending is a provision that delivers on President Biden’s promise to strengthen the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare.

Obamacare’s big failure has been what it did not do to help––and actually hurt––middle-class buyers of individual health insurance. Since the health law’s inception, consumers, who are eligible for little or no Obamacare subsidy, have faced daunting premiums and out-of-pocket costs.

In 2021, for example, a family of four with mom and dad age 40 in the Alexandria, VA zip code would find that the cheapest unsubsidized silver plan would cost $18,046.32 in annual premiums, with a per person deductible of $6,500 a year.

Candidate Biden’s plan would fix that by capping what people at any income level would pay for marketplace plans at 8.5% of their income––the 400% of the federal poverty level cap on subsidy eligibility would no longer apply.

A family of four making the current 400% of poverty level annual income of $106,000 would pay no more than $9,010 in annual premiums (8.5% of their income) under the new rules.

The House passed stimulus package includes this and goes even further by letting people who earn up to 150% of the federal poverty level get full subsidies and also by extending full subsidies to those receiving unemployment benefits.

At 150% of the federal poverty level, four-person families earning up to $39,750, and individuals earning up to $19,320, would pay nothing in premiums for their Obamacare individual health insurance under the House-passed plan.

The House stimulus bill would also cover 95% of Medicaid expansion costs for states that have not yet expanded––up from the baseline 90% match.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that these changes would cover 1.3 million more people and cost $34 billion.

If these changes survive in a Senate-passed coronavirus stimulus bill, they would dramatically improve the costs middle-class individuals and families face on the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges and encourage states to expand their Medicaid programs.

But here’s the catch. These improvements are part of a temporary stimulus bill and would only apply to health insurance subsidies and federal Medicaid costs in 2021 and 2022.

On January 1, 2023, the Obamacare insurance subsidies would revert to the old levels that have caused middle-class families to face these huge premiums.

What else is happening at the end of 2022? The Congressional elections.

This would make Obamacare another huge election-year issue.

Would Republican House and Senate candidates support making these middle-class improvements to the Affordable Care Act permanent, or would they call for letting them drop?

Now, that is one heck of an ugly election-year choice for Republicans who have consistently called for Obamacare to be repealed and replaced.

If Democrats can succeed in keeping these substantial improvements to Obamacare in a stimulus bill they can get passed through the Senate, they will have set one whopper of a political time bomb for Republicans come November 2022.

Robert Laszewski is president, Health Policy and Strategy Associates and blogs at Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

COVID-19: Looking into the future and healing

March 4, 2021 Kevin 0
…
Next

The impact of COVID-19 on those with disabilities and mental illness

March 4, 2021 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Public Health & Policy

Post navigation

< Previous Post
COVID-19: Looking into the future and healing
Next Post >
The impact of COVID-19 on those with disabilities and mental illness

More by Robert Laszewski

  • What does Kelly Loeffler’s health plan do to coverage for preexisting conditions?

    Robert Laszewski
  • Joe Biden won. What does that mean for health care?

    Robert Laszewski
  • Will the Supreme Court destroy the Affordable Care Act?

    Robert Laszewski

Related Posts

  • An outdated law is limiting our coronavirus response

    Leah Hampson Yoke, PA-C
  • Approach the gun violence epidemic like we do with coronavirus

    Charles Nozicka, DO
  • Doctors: It’s time to unionize

    Thomas D. Guastavino, MD
  • Finding happiness in the time of COVID

    Anonymous
  • Coronavirus and my doctor daughter

    Carol Ewig
  • A medical student’s reflection on time, the scarcest resource

    Natasha Abadilla

More in Policy

  • Pediatricians grapple with guns in America, from Band-Aids to bullets

    Tasia Isbell, MD, MPH
  • Health care wins, losses, and lessons

    Robert Pearl, MD
  • Maximizing care amidst provider shortages: the power of measurement-based care

    Tom Zaubler, MD
  • Unveiling excessive medical billing and greed

    Amol Saxena, DPM, MPH
  • Chronic health issues and homelessness

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • The impact of certificate of need laws on rural health care

    Jaimie Cavanaugh, JD and Daryl James
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
    • Air quality alert: Reducing our carbon footprint in health care

      Shreya Aggarwal, MD | Conditions
    • A teenager’s perspective: the pressing need for mental health days in schools

      Ruhi Saldanha | Conditions
    • End-of-life ethics and antibiotic use [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • End-of-life ethics and antibiotic use [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Physician return-to-work policies

      Deepak Gupta, MD | Physician
    • Communication, power dynamics, and organizational culture in health care

      Beth Boynton, RN, MS, CP | Conditions
    • How my patients’ Zoom backgrounds made me a better doctor

      Joseph Barrera, MD | Physician
    • Understanding reproductive rights: complex considerations

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Innovations in surgical education [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Mortality Risk From Damaged Bronchi Extends to People Without COPD
  • ChatGPT Improving, but Still Lacks Reliability as a Clinical Support Tool
  • COVID Vax in Pregnancy Protects Young Infants Against Omicron
  • Repeat Tests for Inflammation Aid Prognosis After Acute Heart Failure
  • FDA OKs Another Injectable for Rare Kidney Disorder

Meeting Coverage

  • Hot Flashes: Precursor to Alzheimer's Disease?
  • SABR Offers New Hope for Older Patients With Inoperable Kidney Cancer
  • Menopausal Women With Obesity Endure Worse Symptoms, Less HT Relief
  • Study Pinpoints Growing Use of Cannabis to Manage Menopause Symptoms
  • Fezolinetant Benefits Women Not Suited for Hormone Therapy
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
    • Air quality alert: Reducing our carbon footprint in health care

      Shreya Aggarwal, MD | Conditions
    • A teenager’s perspective: the pressing need for mental health days in schools

      Ruhi Saldanha | Conditions
    • End-of-life ethics and antibiotic use [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • End-of-life ethics and antibiotic use [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Physician return-to-work policies

      Deepak Gupta, MD | Physician
    • Communication, power dynamics, and organizational culture in health care

      Beth Boynton, RN, MS, CP | Conditions
    • How my patients’ Zoom backgrounds made me a better doctor

      Joseph Barrera, MD | Physician
    • Understanding reproductive rights: complex considerations

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Innovations in surgical education [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Inside the $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill is a political time bomb for Republicans
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...